Contents

Overview

An M982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery round (center) falls
onto a suspected insurgent safe house during combat operations in
the northern region of Baghdad May 5, 2007. Soldiers of the 1st
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division fired the round from their M109A6 Paladin
howitzer on Camp Taji,
Iraq and this was the first operational use of the
projectile.

The "smart" round is expected to have a range of approximately
40 to 57 km depending on configuration with a circular error probable (CEP)
of around 10 m. The extended range is achieved through the use of
folding glide fins, which allow the projectile to glide from the top of a ballistic arc towards the target.
The accuracy is achieved through the use of a
GPS guidance system. In
contrast, standard U.S. 155 mm shells have a CEP of 200 to 300 m at
moderate ranges.[1]

The munition is being developed with $55.1 million in financial
assistance from Sweden, which
expects to receive service rounds in 2010. As of 2008, unit costs
are $85,000, potentially dropping to $50,000 in full-scale
production.[2]

Initial combat experience with Excalibur in Iraq in the summer
of 2007 was so successful (92% of rounds falling within 4 meters of
the target) that the US Army planned to increase the production
rate to 150 rounds per month vs the previous 18 rounds per
month.[3][4]

The combat value of the projectile was indicated by the US
Army's decision to rate it as one of the Top 10 Army Greatest
Inventions of the Year Award for 2007.[5][6]

Program
status

June 2005: Raytheon
awarded a $22.1 million contract for initial production.[7]